Do contraceptives influence the incidence of acute pelvic inflammatory disease in women with gonorrhoea?

The influence of different contraceptive techniques on the incidence of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in 672 patients with gonorrhoea have been studied. The lowest frequency of PID was found in patients using hormonal contraceptives (Group A), 8.8 per cent compared to 23.5 per cent in patients using intrauterine devices (Group B) and 15.1 per cent in patients using neither technique (Group C). In comparable control groups no significant differences in background factors, such as age, marital status and sexual activity were demonstrated. It is therefore concluded that the significantly lower incidence of PID in patients using hormonal contraceptives compared to the other groups and the high incidence of PID in patients using intrauterine devices is related to the contraceptive technique per se.